The Agenda Keeper: Pencil and Paper

part one in a series on organization
see part two: iOrganize here

The first great secret to success is be super bossy stay well-organized. I like to think I do this well, and I'd like to think that someone's life will get more organized by me sharing this. Or not, I don't really know.

 updated 12/25/2015 for pictures, added content

First off, the big agenda that runs my life.

Some folks like to use an electronic calendar, but I prefer the beauty of pen and paper, as well as the sheer beauty of my Jumbo "Wild Confetti" Lilly Pulitzer agenda. I highly recommend having some sort of physical planner; you will remember dates better and let's face it, technology can and will fail you when you need it the most. 

Washi Tape and Me

I picked up some rolls of washi tape a while back on sale at Hobby Lobby and never looked back. I like to color-coordinate my life and washi tape makes it easy to connect notebooks, papers, and my agenda to a specific class or organization.

Monthly View

When I open my monthly calendar, I can easily see what class has a major assignment due when, and schedule my time accordingly. I am proud to say I have never pulled a true "all nighter" to complete an assignment; sleep is important, y'all.

Next Week

For my week-by-week, I include what the syllabus says we're doing that day, time frames of things that aren't classes, and any and all social events. Balancing work and play is vital to a healthy mind. I've found the washi tape is a handy place to either put what we're doing that day (chapter, et cetera) or the classroom if we move around often. Is it large? Yes. But that's a reminder to me that each class needs that much time.

Pro-tip: use highlighters sparingly on the weekly view to denote major due dates. I use yellow for minor assignments (short papers, et cetera) and pink for major assignments (tests, performances). I also use orange to mark when I work!

As you can (or maybe can't) see, each color/pattern has a specific meaning behind it. It makes the agenda, in my opinion, look significantly more exciting and quite honestly the colors make me relax just a bit. It also makes it easy to look for a specific class without having to read every little thing on the page!

Liturgical Calendar

The challenge to live according more to the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar has been resting on my heart lately in an effort to live authentically and fully in my faith. Jesus is not someone we meet on Sundays only, He is someone that we constantly seek to meet and Whose glorious expectations we seek to fulfill. I read a blog post recently chatting about how the church has always lived by the liturgical calendar, enough that it influenced and directed how Catholics lived their lives. 

Thus, it's in my agenda. If I can pencil in social events, I can marker in Jesus ("marker" is totally a verb, right?)

I began with the calendar from the USCCB, detailing what happens each day. Using some markers, I outlined each day in my calendar ("Sunday 25") with the liturgical color, which would be important if you read the post on my home shrine I suppose. I then marked at the top of each day if something special was happening. This includes words like "feast," "Holyday," "fast," "no meat," and so forth. As a student and teacher, having that reminder to live my faith at the top of each day is invaluable. It serves as a way to mark obligations, opportunities to learn from the saints, and a reminder to breathe.

Agenda Tips and Tricks

Stay up to date on dates

There are more pen colors than black; use them

Write down times and places

Small sticky notes are beautiful places to attach contact information without taking up precious space

Mark down times you are letting yourself have fun
Make sure to actually write down things like assignments, papers, due dates....
Washi tape likes Sharpie, but not Sharpie pens or regular pens

I hope this gives some insight into a method of organizing that works for me!

How do you stay organized in your everyday life? What do you excel at in this field? What are you still working on?

Much love,
Maria